Beijing Sets Up Living Will Association to Ensure Decent Death

The city of Beijing has set up a living will association, giving people the right to give up life-prolonging medical treatment and wait for death peacefully, The Beijing Times reports.

The declarant of a living will can decide which treatments they would or would not like to receive in the event they suffer from a terminal illness or enter a permanent vegetative state whereby death is expected within six months in spite of all treatments, stated Luo Diandian, executive vice chairman of the association.

The declarant must be healthy and conscious when writing the living will, although it only becomes effective when the declarant is incapacitated and ultimate recovery is hopeless, Luo added.

A website named "Choose to die decently" set up in 2006 is the first one in the country that introduced the living will including five options concerning: whether or not they wish to receive related medical treatment or life-prolonging procedures, the way they want to be treated by others, what they want to inform their family and friends, and those whose help they wish to receive.

Over the past two years, almost 10,000 people have created a living will via this website.

Luo is also planning a living will registration center to ensure that hospitals and doctors will be informed of the wills of patients who suffer from a terminal illness or are in a permanent vegetative state.